Apr 15
Comedian Joe Wong
Hongkonger sent me a link to Joe Wong, the first Chinese stand up comedian to become successful in the United States. This is his initial network television appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman. After the jump, I’ve added an interview, another performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and a quick comedy sketch of why Joe wants to run for President of the USA.
Seriously Funny with Joe Klocek interviews Joe Wong.
Joe’s performance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Finally, why Joe is running for President of the United States.
Let us know what you think of Joe!
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April 15th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
There is a lengthy article from Wall Street Journey but it is not accessible for all from the web. The next best link is
http://www.angryasianman.com/2010/04/joe-wong-is-funny-just-not-in-china.html
April 15th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
He was not well received in China even he was quite successful in US. It is a difference in two cultures to me. I think he is funny, and the material is quite fresh so far. His look is different from most other comedians and it makes him funny and refreshing on the first sight.
‘I’m Irish’ joke is not funny from person of any nationality but very funny when it was spoken by a Chinese – as obviously he’s not telling the truth or some other cultural bias.
I found that WSJ article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703416204575146040564757682.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
This one with the vice president is funny too.
April 16th, 2010 at 12:35 am
@TonyP4
Chinese comedy is not stand-up comedy. It more than 2 people doing comedic pieces, showing their skills (presumably fast talking or other impressive tricks), singing pieces (mostly Pekingese Opera), and situational comedies.
Anywho, I wasn’t aware Joe Wong got invited Radio & TV Correspondence Dinner last month.
Amazing achievement and a great act.
April 16th, 2010 at 1:47 am
Wow! Thanks for posting this Steve, this guy’s hilarious
April 16th, 2010 at 2:53 am
I had just used a snippet from the Joe Wong for President video so if you’d like to watch the entire thing, here it is. 😛
April 16th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Jason, here is a copy of my e-mail to my friends:
Stand-up comedy is an American invention, but I bet it is popular in many other countries. 相聲 is a Chinese invention, but it is getting old and boring even in China. Chinese comedians are limited by what they can talk by their political environment and culture/tradition. Some audience I experienced are not too polite to the performers.
Jokes are hard to translate into other countries/cultures. Jokes are primarily classified as double meaning, exaggeration, sex, and combination of the above.
A good joke gets us laugh in very efficient way (brief and no need to explain). All good jokes (like songs) have been written. The new ones have to deal with current events, different cultures… Joe has the above two combination. Some of his jokes needs explanation and he does not speak good language (but it is good for his act though). He was a full-time scientist and part-time comedian at least one time.
Joe looks funny as a kind of Chinese stereotype reminding folks of Huang, the American Idol contestant. With China influencing the world, jokes from China is a good change compared to other miseries. Joe’s jokes are not accepted well in China. I watched 3 of his shows and most materials have been recycled. Not a easy job to have new material.
—-
Thanks if you’ve patience for reading so far. Here is another e-mail on the same topic.
Chinese should take more risk in life in seeking non-traditional professions. When all Chinese in US and Canada head to professional jobs, we do not have any one making money in sports, music… As a group, we’re not diversified.
These seekers are our pioneers and they gain my respect for being adventurous (life should be). There are more in life besides money. Dedicate our life to sth that is worth while, helping others, interesting…
I did not have a choice when I started with what I had. I needed to buy milk for my babies. The new generation does not have our limitations.
April 17th, 2010 at 10:01 am
Stand up comedy is popular in many countries, and I know Chinese who find it funny. I don’t believe that there are no stand-up jokes that would work in China. Some from another country won’t work because you’d need to understand the background, but who would not laugh at the last joke?
April 17th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
@ TonyP4 #2: Tony, I just realized I missed posting that video of the RTCA dinner. He threw some real zingers that night! Thanks for finding it.
April 19th, 2010 at 4:52 am
Finally broke thru the great flaming hedge! Thank you WKL and Steve for your suggestions.
FYI, Wong Chi-Wah is a household name in HK.
Wong 黃子華, born 5 September 1960, is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. He began his entertainment career in Hong Kong in 1984, but only became known since 1990 for his stand-up comedy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayo_Wong
Stand-up comedy in China is an emerging art form. Hong Kong is the only city in China to offer a fulltime comedy club, The TakeOut Comedy Club Hong Kong, which features both local comics as well as leading international comedians such as Tom Cotter.[6] The Punchline Comedy Club also hosts international comedians once per month.
[edit] Malaysia
Malaysia in 2009 revitalized the stand-up comedy scene with the introduction of 2 regular monthly shows. Timeout Comedy Thursday hosts monthly shows, which features young comedians and open mics. The Comedy Club KL, the counterpart of The Comedy Club Asia, offers monthly shows and features some of the best stand-up comedians from around the world with the likes of Greg Fleet, Akmal Saleh and Jeff Green. Local stand-up comedians including Harith Iskander, Douglas Lim, Joanne Kam and Andrew Netto who are regular performers and have had shows in The Comedy Club KL. The stand-up comedy scene is new and limited to Kuala Lumpur, but is growing rapidly.
April 20th, 2010 at 4:18 am
Movie Synopsis
Pope Joan is an upcoming British-German medieval epic film produced by Bernd Eichinger, based on American novelist Donna Woolfolk Cross’ book of the same name. Directed by Sönke Wortmann, it stars Johanna Wokalek as Pope Joan, David Wenham as Gerold, her lover, and John Goodman as Pope Sergius.
http://www.popejoan.com/novel.htm
“It’s so gratifying to read about those rare heroes whose strength of vision enables them to ignore the almost overpowering messages of their own historical period… Pope Joan has all the elements one wants in a historical drama–love, sex, violence, duplicity and long-buried secrets. Donna Woolfolk Cross’ has written an engaging book.” -Los Angeles http://www.popejoan.com/reviews.htm
April 29th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Cantonese comedy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigwV-b9tyE&feature=related
May 5th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Hongkonger sent me a link to Joe Wong, the first Chinese stand up comedian to become successful in the United States. What about Margeret Cho? She even won the American Comedy Award for Female Comedian in 1994. Shows how much you bozos know about the Chinese diaspora.
May 5th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Amy, first of all, Margaret Cho is Korean American, not Chinese, and was born in San Francisco so your entire argument is nonsense. Second, could you make your point without the four letter words which I deleted since you’re new to the blog? We actually know quite a bit about the Chinese diaspora; you might want to brush up on it yourself. BTW, I like Margaret Cho.
May 5th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Right from Margaret’s joke from my memory: Do not call me a Chink as I’m a Gook. Before you discriminate me, make sure what race I’m. 🙂
May 5th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
OMG Tony.. i know its a bad joke but I can’t \help but laughing
May 5th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Since Amy brought up Margaret Cho, here she is talking about race…
July 5th, 2010 at 1:48 am
I just heard about this new guy – check him out
http://www.youtube.com/user/angrybritishchinese
Pretty funny – sorry i cant upload the videolink but you can find it – hes quite good at doing impersonations of British people!
July 5th, 2010 at 4:30 am
David, I tried to link to the video but I’m getting a message on You Tube that it’s not available, at least not in the States. I found two videos of someone called “angrybritishchinese”, a Chinese Brit with a ponytail. Is that the same guy? If you can give me a better description, I’ll try to find and embed it. Thanks!
August 25th, 2010 at 9:57 am
My name is Rifat but people call me WU FENG in Taiwan, since I am in Turkey now, I write English in this mail. I can speak and write Chinese. I have been living and studying in Taiwan for 4 years. Besides, I am developing my career as an TV and Stage entertainer. I join TV shows, TV commercials and Dramas. Besides, I have my onw Chinese Stand Up comedy. This is the only Chinese stand up comedy by a foreign performer in the world. I love Chinese culture and working hard to create better performances for Chinese people. I want to introduce Chinese culture to world and also my own culture to whole China. I share my informations with you and want to meet you. Hope you like my shows and at least give me your suggestions or maybe help me to introduce me around China. It is very hard to be a foreigner and doing such kind of performances. People love the shows but they need to learn more and I have to tell more about me.
I send my best wishes and looking forward to hear from you soon,
All the best,
WU FENG
http://www.rifatkarlova.com
This is my link in YOUKU : http://u.youku.com/richiebanderas
PS: Please see my informations in my website and read more about me in WIKIPEDIA.
January 23rd, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Friends at lunch were raving about Joe Wong so I checked him out on Youtube. Sorry but his accent is still
way too strong for me so I missed 1/2 the jokes and had to replay and replay. I’d vote for Russell Peters any day!
February 15th, 2011 at 11:12 am
Joe Wong is good! His performance is 100% American though… I love Russell Peters and his unique perspective of self sarcasm… Chinese, Indian, Arabs all laugh with his jokes.